Fusion Warriors
by Dreamlight
Summary: A mysterious entity named Dominus seeks a way to get to the Core Realm, and to do so he's attacking other dimensions to get there. The Digidestined/Tamers who can still fight are sent to a new realm and use new ways to fight with new warriors against this powerful foe! - Note: Major update to story, make sure to read from the beginning, a lot of new information is in each chapter -
1. Lost Battles and New Beginnings

_Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, but I would love to!_

_Author's Note: It'll be explained later, but this story does take place a few years after each of the respective seasons ended. They're all at least 18 years old at this point. Also, the Epilogue from Season 2 will not be canon in this story._

_To those who read this story years ago, I'm doing something of an "expanded edition" of this story. It actually is the same overall plot, but I'm editing a lot of my older stories for grammar errors, plot holes, and things like that. Every chapter that was up before has about a thousand new words added to them, so a lot more of the story is filled in and expanded on. I'll also start adding completely new chapters soon._

_Hope you enjoy the story!_

* * *

Takeru stood next to Hikari as Taichi and Yamato held off the attacking Digimon with Omegamon, turning the massive groups of Champions, Ultimates, and even some Megas, back into data. Angemon flew above the younger siblings, knocking aside stray blasts with his staff. Nephertimon flew next to Kari with an unconscious Davis and Veemon on her back.

"I found Davis, but not Ken," She said solemnly. "Imperialdramon Fighter Mode was defeated long before I came by."

Angemon ran out of the energy and de-digivolved into Patamon, this fight had been going too long for him to continue in his Champion stage.

"Sorry TK," Patamon said, flying over to his partner. Takeru patted Patamon's head.

"It's okay Patamon," He comforted. "Do you have enough energy for an armor digivolution?" Armor Digivolution took less energy than the regular kind, though it came at the price of being weaker than their natural Champion stage.

Patamon nodded. "I think so!"

"Digi-Armor Energize!" Takeru cried out. Patamon glowed and transformed into the flying horse of Hope, Pegasusmon.

"Get out of here!" Tai yelled. Matt nodded in agreement.

"We'll hold them off, but you need to get away!" He shouted. Takeru and Hikari climbed onto Pegasusmon and looked at their brothers sadly.

"We'll be fine TK," Matt said softly. Takeru nodded, somehow managing to hear.

"Go!" He shouted to Pegasusmon. His partner flapped his wings and, along with Nephertimon, flew off.

"Now let's give them all we got!" Tai growled. Matt nodded.

"You two are quite powerful," A voice said. An entire battlefield full of enemies stopped in their tracks as the deep voice filled the area. The effect was quite chilling and both Digidestined felt a shiver crawl through them. Omegamon pointed his gun arm to the source of the voice, a giant shadow that was floating in the sky.

"I've managed to take all your friends except your younger brother and sister," The shadow began to shape into an almost humanoid form. "Hope and Light, the only ones I needed. How annoying it is that they're the only ones I didn't capture."

Tai and Matt fixed the shadow with a glare.

"If it bothers you then it definitely makes me happy." Tai stated. The shadow laughed, growing horns from his forehead and wings on his back.

"Did you know this is the second dimension with a digital world I've been to?" The shadow asked. "The other one had Digidestined as well, but they called themselves Tamers. I managed to capture all but two from there as well, the sneaky Gallant and Vixen managed to get away from me."

"Why are you doing this?" Matt bellowed.

"Well I'd like to tell you- no actually I don't," The shadow laughed as if he'd made a joke. "But I'll let you become my generals, how about that?"

"How about...?" Matt started.

"...no?" Tai finished. Omegamon fired three shots into the shadow, each getting knocked to the side by some invisible force.

"Tsk. Pathetic. Don't worry though, you'll get _much_ stronger when I'm through with you," The shadow flew at Omegamon and his partners and they rushed at him with their weapons ready. A loud explosion filled the air as their private battle started, an army of terrified Digimon being witnesses to it.

* * *

"Where're we going?" Hikari asked. Takeru sighed. He'd felt a strong surge of darkness from where they came from, and there was no doubt Kari had as well. All they could do now was run and hide until their Digimon recovered. After that... well, they'd figure that part out later.

"I don't know, Kari," Takeru replied. "I just know we need to get away from there and hide for a little while."

"Might I offer a suggestion?" A new voice asked from behind them. A man with glowing white wings was hovering there, giving them all a surprise.

"My name's Vigil," The man said. "I'm what you would call...a Guardian I suppose. I exist between dimensions and try to protect them."

"Didn't do a great job here, did you?" Nephertimon asked. Vigil shook his head sadly.

"No...I didn't," Vigil stated sadly, in a voice just above a whisper. "But let me take you to a safe place. From there I'll be able to to help you save your friends and family, along with another dimension."

A portal opened behind Vigil. "Follow me."

Pegasusmon and Nephertimon flew into the portal with their riders wondering what was going on. When they passed through it they came across what seemed to be an ancient Greek temple. There were several worn pillars and statues. Each statue was different; one was of a knight, another was an angel, and several others that couldn't be made out from erosion.

"Where are we?" Kari asked.

"He likes to call this his headquarters," A masculine voice said. A tall man with spiky brown hair walked up to them, but what got everyone's attention were the goggles on his head.

"My name's Takato," He said. Takato pointed to a woman with red hair tied into a spiky ponytail making her way over to them.

"I'm Rika," She introduced herself. Vigil appeared near them, now wearing a white suit. Takeru noticed Vigil was tall man, not as tall as he, but nowhere near as short as Hikari either, with green eyes and brown hair.

"Looks like I've got some explaining to do," He said. Takeru, Kari, and Davis were too tired to do anything but nod. They would rest first, even if it would be a night full of revisiting their recent horrors.

* * * _**One month ago**_ * * *

Cole looked behind him, shifting his black hair out of his blue eyes. The group of four Gazimon led by a Diamondmon were still after him. He was running for his life after managing to steal some tech from a nearby base.

"Stop, thief!" The leader, an Ultimate called Diamondmon, a giant golem-type made of diamonds, shouted. "Maybe Dominus will let you live if you give up now."

"Let me think about that." Cole yelled back. "How about...no? Candle fire!"

The Digital DNA from Candlemon let him fire tiny balls of flame at his pursuers, hitting them but doing little damage; the only effect was it made Diamondmon and his team of rookies speed up in anger.

"That could have gone better!" Cole stated in frustration

_{Ever heard that saying about playing with fire?} _A voice in his head said.

"Not the best time Candle-" Cole was interrupted as he was forced to dodge some giant crystals fired by Diamondmon.

_{It might be a good idea to digivolve now.}_ Candlemon suggested in his annoyingly calm voice.

"Right," Cole took out his newly upgraded Digivice, the Couno. "Digivolution Activate!" A light surrounded Cole and when it cleared a newly outfitted man stood there. He held a long wooden staff in one hand and wore the black cloak of a magician. The staff had a strange glow about it as it conducted the Warriors magical ability.

"Magical Game!" Cole shouted while aiming his weapon. A beam of golden light shot out of his staff and hit two Gazimon, who turned into data particles that flew away. The remaining Gazimon whimpered and turned, running away. At least he tried to before Diamondmon pounded him with his giant fists, turning him into particles of data that Diamondmon absorbed.

"Never liked him anyways," Diamondmon said. Cole had frozen in shock at the sight.

_{This isn't going to be easy Cole. Diamondmon is the ultimate of Rockmon, and about as tough as they get. His Diamond Barrage can easily wipe out an entire fleet_ _of Rookies, maybe even champions, and his skin is probably the hardest of any Digimon.} _Wizardmon explained. Diamondmon indeed looked similar to Rockmon, but instead of being big and bulky, it was sleek and _gigantic_. Its skin was covered in a blue shell of diamond and it's face was a dark black.

"Then I'll just have to be tougher," Cole replied. Diamondmon smirked as Cole got prepared to fight.

"Oh, how I would love to beat you down to the tiniest particles of data before absorbing you piece by piece, but my master wants you _alive_," He said, a touch of regret in his voice.

Cole cocked his head sideways at Diamondmon._This guy is **creepy**._

_{I whole-heartedly agree.} _Cole could picture Wizardmon frowning and shaking his head.

Diamondmon sniffed the air and smiled. "Ah, Master is coming." A large shadow blocked out the light around them and Cole suddenly felt nervous.

_I hope Vigil has rounded up those other Warriors._ This was the last thing on Cole's mind before everything was swallowed by complete darkness.

* * * _**Present, One Week After Vessel Realms Defeat **__* * *_

"And I've that's the last I heard from Cole, a Warrior working with me from the Mind Realm," Vigil said as he shut off the projector. In front of him sat five people, three male and two female. Hikari licked the back of her hand and ran it through her hair before blushing heavily as she realized what she was doing. Rika nodded to her, sympathetic. The Digital DNA, also called DDNA, seemed to cause them act a little like their Digimon partners.

"Your realms, the Heart and Vessel realms have already been attacked by Dominus, he now has two of the three keys he needs to get to the Core Realm. His next target is the Mind Realm, a world that has only a few people in it that have discovered Digimon to be real. They've thought as them as only TV shows, much like the Heart Realm did. The Mind Realm is where Cole was from, meaning Dominus's discovered a way into it." Vigil pulled down on the rope where the projection had been, which lifted the screen up to reveal a white board behind it.

"There are more dimensions than Heart, Mind, Vessel, and Core, but the first three are very important," Vigil used a marker to draw three large circles that made something of a triangular shape. Evidently the marker could change colors at will as each circle was a different color. Vigil labelled one circle the Vessel Ream, the realm of Takeru and Hikari, and it was a green color, then the Heart Realm, the realm of Takato and Rika, a red color, and the Mind realm, the realm that Cole was from, which was a blue color. Then he drew a triangle, made up of a variety of colors, in the middle.

"This triangle is the Core Realm, the most crucial of all the realms," Vigil informed his team. "All realms are like support beams, adding to the structure of the universe. Anytime one is hurt badly, the others feel it, at least to an extent. How much that extent is different. For instance, when Dominus invaded Vessel and Heart, something happened to Mind. The defeat of Heart is what careened Cole into the Digital World of his realm, and that's where I found him and recruited him to our cause."

Vigil took a second, breathing slowly to keep his emotions about what had happened to Cole under control. After he let out that breath slowly, he continued.

"However, when Vessel was defeated, a few more Digimon appeared in Mind's Real World. Other realms are also being affected. See, Vessel, Mind, and Heart are like support beams. They are some of the most important realms, and if something happens to them..."

Vigil took the marker and drew many small circles around the current few and then, showing that the marker could do more than just change colors, manipulated the circles until they merged together to form one giant circle.

"If the Core Realm is accessed then anything can happen, though I have a suspicion Dominus will pull every realm together and rule over them all." Vigil then tapped the marker against the emptiness within the circle, filling it completely with black. "And we'll be ruled by darkness."

"You've already fused with your Digimon," Vigil continued, gesturing to the Couno Digivice on each of their wrists. "Now your mission is to go to the Mind Realm and find the other Digidestined there. You'll need all the help you can get to stop Dominus from getting to the Core Realm. I don't know where Dominus is keeping your kidnapped friends, but I have to assume they're somewhere in his territory, a dimension I can't get into."

Takato raised his hand.

"Yes Takato?" Vigil looked at the man.

"You say we've fused with our Digimon, but I haven't been able to do anything different," Takato said. "When will _our _Digimon traits show up?"

"When you reach the Mind realm. We have it set on your Digivices not to activate fully until then, there's not much need for it right now. Yes, Davis?" Vigil pointed at the other goggle-headed male who'd raised his hand.

"What will happen if he gets to the Core Realm?" Davis asked. "Is it really different from our dimensions?"

"He'll become the ultimate ruler or the ultimate destroyer," Vigil explained. "The Core Realm is what holds everything together, and what can take it all apart."

"Any idea of what this 'Dominus' will do if he gets there?" Rika asked.

"I don't know," Vigil sighed. "He's shown no patterns with what he does. The Digimon working for him aren't all the same type, things he destroys are seemingly random, what he chooses to leave untouched has little in common, and so on. He's a giant mystery. Yes, Takeru?"

"How do we find the Mind Realms Warriors?" Takeru asked. Vigil pointed at the Digivice he wore on his wrist.

"Press the gold button, a map with the Fusion Warriors shown as dots will appear," He explained. "I'm able to do some things, like take a weakened Digimon into my realm. If it was brainwashed by Dominus, I can purify it. If it wasn't... well, they may know something. I'll get that something from them" A portal opened behind the five warriors. "I've loaded up some packs with gear for you, including things like rations, camping gear, and things you might need. Now go and take Dominus down!"

The warriors stood up and walked through the portal.

"Good luck," Vigil said just before the portal closed. After it did so, he lingered for a few minutes, thinking about what the Warriors would have to do, go through, and if they'd truly be able to do it. Shaking is head clear of those thoughts, for it did little good to try and guess what would happen, he walked away to work on his other tasks. The Mind Realm would soon be invaded more and more as Dominus gained power within it, and he needed to focus on tactics his side could use. For now though, he'd have to wait and analyze the little he could glean from Dominus.

* * *

Takeru opened his eyes and stretched, stifling a yawn. Takato lay a few feet away from him, still asleep. Takeru looked around, no sign of Hikari, Rika, or Davis. He stood up and flapped his wings a few times... then he froze. They felt so natural on his body that he was actually confused as to whether he was born with them or no.

_When did I ever have wings? _He asked himself while the fogginess began to clear. Once it did so, Takeru studied the new parts of his body; they were orange and leathery, and stretched fully around sixteen feet altogether. He was able to condense them tightly as well, so that they would likely be able to be hidden with no more than a slight bulge underneath a thick shirt. Once the surprise of this stopped prioritizing his mind, Takeru saw an unconscious teammate nearby and rushed towards them.

"Takato! Are you okay? Wake up!" Takeru started shaking Takato. Takato opened his eyes and yawned; when he did a huge ball of fire flew out of his mouth, almost hitting Takeru. The goggled boy immediately sat up and his eyes widened.

"I just…did I just…?" Takato was definitely surprised. Takeru gestured towards his wings.

"We've definitely completed the fusion with our Digimon, I've got Patamon's wings, and look at the back of your hands," He said, pointing at the hazard signs on Takato's hands.

"This is so weird!" Takato said. Then he looked around. "Where are we?"

"In the Real World, " Takeru said. "Well at least this dimensions Real World."

"I guess we should explore a bit, we need to find the new Tamers, or Digidestined, or whatever they're called here."

"Yeah, we also need to look for Hikari, Rika, and Davis."

* * *

Hikari tried her best to wake Rika up.

"Stupid Cat's Eye Hypnotism!" She seethed, ignoring Gatomon's mental protests at the insults on her attacks. "I didn't mean to use it on you Rika, I'm sorry!"

Davis stood over her with a smile on his face.

"Well, at least you didn't use your Lightning Paw on her," He joked.

Hikari plopped down and decided take a break from trying to wake up Rika.

"So… you're fused with Veemon?" She asked.

{_Duh Kari,_} Gatomon teased. {_The V on his forehead doesn't give it away?_}

Davis nodded and gestured to the light golden V he now wore, barely visible underneath his goggles. "Yeah, but it's kinda annoying hearing him in my head all the time." He winced as Veemon replied with what was probably an insult and Hikari giggled. Their attention was drawn back to the sleeping girl as she began moving.

Rika opened her eyes and yawned. "Where are we?"

Before Hikari could answer a huge Digimon appeared, tearing through the park they were at; it was a Tyrannomon.

"Flamethrower!" It yelled as a blast shot from its mouth, causing them all to dodge. Rika immediately seemed to disappear, then reappear above the huge dinosaur's head.

"Diamond storm!" She cried out. Dozens of tiny blue spears settled in front of her crossed arms. She spread them and all the sharp objects flew at the Tyrannomon's head. Davis recovered soon after and immediately ran towards the giant red T-Rex.

"V-Head Butt!' He yelled, the golden V on his head began to glow and he leaped at the Tyrannomon, hitting it in the stomach, shockwaves were sent through the ground when the giant Digimon fell. Hikari jumped on top of a nearby tree branch and looked the Tyrannomon in the eyes.

"Cats-Eye Hypnotism!" Her eyes turned red and the fallen Digimon fell asleep. Rika landed with an inhuman grace and Davis rubbed the back of his head while laughing.

"That was awesome!" Davis exclaimed. Hikari grinned and leaped off the branch and landed next to Davis.

"That's the first I've seen you actually use your head in a fight Davis," She giggled. Davis just gave her a mock glare. Rika rolled her eyes. "So what should we do with this loser?"

"I don't know..." Kari started to say as their digivices began to glow and a portal appeared, pulling Tyrannomon inside of it.

"What was that?" Davis cried out.

"That must've been what Vigil was talking about earlier," Kari suggested.

"I'm sure that's exactly what it was. Now come on you two, we need to find our missing members and the new Digidestined. If Digimon are showing up in the Real World then we'll need all the help we can get!" Rika said sternly.

"Maybe this will help," Davis said, activating his Digivice. He pressed a button on it and a map appeared, eight dots blinked in different areas on it. Five were blue and three were red, three of the blue ones were huddled almost in the same spot while the other two were together but far away.

"I'm guessing we're these," Hikari said, pointing at the three blues.

"Those must be Takeru and Takato," Rika pointed at the other two blues.

"These must be places for us to eat!" Davis exclaimed, pointing at the red ones. Rika and Hikari exchanged a glance before laughing.

"What?" Davis asked.

"Those aren't place to eat!" Rika explained.

"Oh yeah?" Davis challenged. "Well what are they?"

* * *

"Those must be new Fusion Warrior," Takeru said, pointing at the red dots.

They both looked over their Couno's maps; the red dots didn't really seem to have a difference. Takato looked closer, one of them had a black exclamation mark blinking on it.

"There!" Takato exclaimed. He pointed to the dot he'd discovered. TK looked over Takato's shoulder. "That sign must mean this one's in danger!"

"Good thing they're nearby," Takeru said. "Let's go!"

* * *

Canem didn't look different than a normal person, well besides the goggles he wore around his neck like some sort of necklace. He lived by himself in an apartment while going to college. He ate relatively normal food, mainly fast-food, microwaveable foods, and instant noodles since he couldn't cook. To the average eye he was just a guy in college. But then again, not many people knew to look for others that were fused with a Digimon.

A week ago Canem had met one named Caligomon. He looked like a mix between a fox and a human; reminding him of the Renamon he'd seen in the Digimon cartoon series. Except Caligomon was red and black and had the symbols of a cross on his gloves instead of a yin-yang. Caligomon had told him everything he'd known about Digimon and some upcoming dangers, which wasn't much to go on.

All Canem knew was there was supposedly two other Digidestined he had to find, then he'd have to go to the Digital World. He shifted the strap of his backpack, trying to make it more comfortable, as he walked home. A chill crept up his spine, something was wrong. Canem quickened his pace as his feelings of upcoming danger increased.

{Be careful Canem,} Caligomon warned in his head.

_I know_, Canem thought back.

"V-Nova Blast!" A voice shouted from behind him. With reflexes he still hadn't mentally adjusted to, Canem leaped over the giant ball of fire. Flipping in the air before landing, he faced the giant blue monster, a Veedramon. A growing sense of fear rose in Canem, Veedramons were supposed to be very powerful; there was no way he could take it by himself. Unfortunately, he had no choice.

"Nice try, big guy," Canem taunted, covering fear with humor. "Hey, that rhymed!"

Veedramon, obviously having no sense of humor, roared and shot another blast at him, which Canem leaped to the side to dodge. While flipping his backpack fell into the blast, scorching it completely.

"Do you know how expensive that textbook was?" Canem yelled. Leaping high into the air, he summoned dozens of jagged golden beams in front of his open hands.

"Arrowhead Strike!" He pushed his opened palms out and sent them flying at Veedramon. A few of them struck its face, causing a loud roar of pain, but most of them bounced off its skin. It was just as Canem had feared, Veedramon's skin was too thick for his arrowheads to pierce; he'd have rely on other attacks.

"Tough one, aren't you?" Canem commented. As soon as he landed he powered up the energy in his hands and feet.

"Digi-Fu!" His hands and feet glowed with energy and he charged at Veedramon, punching and kicking with a grace a martial artist could never hope to achieve.

{_Would you **please** stop calling that attack such an idiotic name?_}Caligomons voice rang in Canems ear.

_Not the time Caligo-buddy!_ Canem's "Digi-Fu" attack was powerful, but it required intense focus and Canem hadn't quite mastered it yet. As he kept striking, each hit landed solidly and the Veedramon roared in pain. However, due to allowing himself to get distracted, he soon became unable to control the extra energy very well and it cost him. The energy disappeared completely and when his hits, while still strong than a Humans, weakened. The Veedramon took advantage of this and counter-attacked by slamming it's iron-hard fist into Canems side, causing him to fly several feet away and land _hard_ on the ground.

Canem gasped in pain, struggling both to breathe and get up to his knees. Darkness threatened to claim him and nausea almost overwhelmed him. He fought hard to stand up as best he could, but an incoming fire blast hit him, causing him to be carried away with it several more feet. His skin was burned and his clothes were tattered. He fell hard, consciousness becoming an incredibly fickle state. He found the energy to pull himself up to one knee, though his body protested hard against such an action.

"I'll be really annoyed if I let an overgrown … blue… thingy beat me," Canem semi-quipped, not able to think of any good insults. His hands were on the ground as he kept struggling to both get up and not vomit; his normally brown eyes flashed gold.

"Pyrosphere!" Someone called from behind him and a fireball whizzed by him, striking the Veedramon. Canem was picked up and flown through the air, which didn't do much to keep his food down and he finally lost that battle as he relieved his stomach of his lunch. During this his eyes also returned to their natural brown color. He looked up and saw a man with blonde hair and a pair of orange wings as his savior.

"What's g…g…going on?" Canem was finding it hard to speak as his body crept closer and closer to unconsciousness The blonde man just smiled at him before setting him down.

"You'll be safe here, me and my buddy over there will take care of this," He pointed another man with brown hair and a set of goggles on his head. It was amazing enough when the fireballs Veedramon sent at him didn't hurt him, but it was even more of a surprise when the guy shot his own fireballs back from his mouth.

_That's gotta hurt the throat,_ Canem thought to himself. The blonde man flapped his wings a couple of times and flew off to help his friend.

"Air Bombs!" The man held out his hands as some wind gathered into them, forming what looked like almost clear, yet solid and condensed, spheres. He then threw one after the other at the giant Veedramon, the air spheres combined with Goggles's fire ball and hit a recently fired V-Nova blast, sending it, combined with the other two attacks, flying back at Veedramon. The big blue beast groaned and collapsed to the floor, unconscious. What happened next surprised them all as a light appeared from the Couno Digivices of the two men and a blue and white portal just big enough to fit Veedramon opened. It levitated into the air, then ascended through the portal, which closed soon afterward. After recovering from the surprise of that, the flying man and his friend ran up to Canem.

"You alright?" Goggles asked. Canem nodded a bit; thanks to the Caligomon DDNA in him his wounds had already began healing, though they still had ways to go, and he was incredibly tired.

"Who are you guys?" He asked.

"I'm Takeru," The man folded his wings under his shirt, which surprisingly hid them from sight.

"My name's Takato," Goggles said.

"I-I'm Canem," Canem said. Sleep claimed him before he could say anything else.


	2. New Setting and Epilogue Shredding

***** One Week Ago *****

Canem slowly opened his eyes. He scratched his long black hair and rubbed his brown eyes. An older woman poked her head in his room; she had shoulder-length black hair and green eyes.

"Canem, are you awake?" She asked. Noticing that he was, she smiled. "You've been sleeping a lot since you've come to visit, sleeping better now that you're home?"

The young man shrugged. "Probably, and all those sleepless nights while doing homework finally caught up to me. Is Dad still here?"

The woman sighed. "He left already, but he says he loves you and will see you tonight."

Canem frowned. "Thanks mom."

His mom winked and smiled at him. "But I know what'll perk you up; breakfast!" Canem's eyes widened and a grin appeared. He was obviously happy, as she knew he would be. He dashed past her and into the kitchen, looking forward to a home-cooked meal. His mother chuckled as she walked in past him.

***** Later That Day *****

Canem stepped out of his room, hastily putting on his blue jacket. He wore a white shirt and loose blue jeans already and began upturning everything around him to find his shoes. His mom had left for work ten minutes ago and soon he'd have to leave to catch the bus back to his apartment.

"Where could they be?" He asked himself. Walking into the living room he lay flat on the ground and peered under the couch, but no shoes were there. He began to get up when an odd beeping sound started; it seemed to be coming from outside the door next to him. He looked outside the window confused; a bright light floated several feet in the air and was blinking. He opened the door and stepped into the backyard, a garden that was practically a forest (his mother really was obsessed with plants) and slowly walked up to it. When he reached it he raised a hand to touch it, and a small electronic device appeared in his hand. He looked at it with a questioning expression on his face. The device was metal, with a golden cross on it, and easily fit into his hand, it was an oval shape and had four buttons on it. When he pressed one of them two straps popped out of its back and quickly wrapped around his wrist. Surprised he tried to take it off, but it wouldn't budge and none of the buttons responded.

"Great," Canem sighed. His attention was drawn to the light again, as it had grown significantly and was now bigger than him, which at six feet was fairly tall.

"What the...?" The light had a shadow appear in it, a figure that walked slowly and steadily towards him. Canem tried to back away, but he couldn't move his feet.

Looking down he could see that he'd managed to tangle his feet in some vines from one of the plants his mom grew. The figure was getting closer now and Canem couldn't pull himself free. He braced himself in a guard he learned from his sensei, well as best he could without falling over.

"Don't worry Canem," A voice said, it was a deep soothing sound and Canem calmed considerably. "I am Caligomon, your partner."

The figure walked out of the light and stepped in front of Canem. It was a fox-man, or at least that was the first thing that came to his mind. It looked like a creature from an anime he had watched in his youth, Digimon. What was its name again? Ren... Renamon. The only differences were that this one was covered in black fur where there was yellow and gray where Renamon had white. It also wore dark blue gloves, and instead of a yin yang sign on them there was a cross with a circle around it. Canem tried to back away in surprise, winding up tripping over the vine, which broke when he fell. He stared at Caligomon in shock, words barely forming in his mind.

"My...partner?" He asked stupidly. The black fox nodded and reached out a helping hand, which Canem grabbed. "You're a Digimon?"

Caligomon smiled, baring his fangs. "So this world knows about Digimon, that'll make things easier."

"Um... do you mind explaining what's going on here?" Canem asked. He realized his fear had vanished and in its stead was a growing sense of excitement. Granted, it had been a few years since he watched Digimon, but he had obsessed over it when it was around, fantasizing about getting drawn into the Digital World and going on adventures. Now he was meeting not only a real Digimon, but also one that was his partner! His inner child was jumping off the walls like a rubber ball with zero gravity in excitement.

"Of course Canem, but perhaps we should go inside?" Caligomon suggested, snapping Canem from his thoughts. Canem nodded and led Caligomon to his room, occasionally stealing glances at the Digimon. When they reached his room he sat on his bed and Caligomon leaned against the wall across from him.

"I, as you already know, am a Digimon," He began. "But what you don't know is the reason I'm here, or what that gadget you're wearing is for." Canem rubbed the device nervously. "That device is the Couno, it will cause me to fuse with you, making us both more powerful than either alone." Canem's eyes widened in surprise.

"Will we be able to separate?" Canem asked.

"No, but I will exist as a voice in your mind and you will have control of my powers," Caligomon explained. "You'll still possess your human form, but my abilities will be added to them. This method is preferable to being two separate beings as together we'll be far stronger than a normal Rookie like myself would be."

"So...you'll be like my guide?" Canem asked.

"As well as your power."

"But why?"

Caligomon sighed sadly. "A world you have not heard of is in great danger, and if this world dies so do the Digital and Real Worlds."

Canem's jaw dropped. "There's another world?"

"Yes, the three keep each other in balance," Caligomon continued. "The Dream World is in peril. You, and some others, must save it."

"What's the Dream World?"

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you what I don't know, and I don't know any more than that. When you find the other Fusion Warriors they can fill the gaps."

"So...why me?" Canem wondered aloud.

"I'm not exactly sure myself, but we'll find out from my superiors." Caligomon pointed to the Couno. "Now point that at me and say Human\Digimon Fusion Activate."

"Alright," Hoping he didn't say the words wrong, he pointed the Couno the best he could at Caligomon. "Human\Digimon Fusion Activate!"

A bright light shone from the Couno and surrounded Canem and Caligomon. Canem wove his hands through it, watching it wrap spiral around his hand.

"It's beautiful," He said in awe. The light intensified Canem was lifted off the ground with Caligomon. "What's going on?"

"We shall be as one!" Caligomon shouted. "Brace yourself!" They suddenly slammed into each other with enough force to knock Canem out.

Canem missed the bus that day.

***** Present *****

Canem slowly opened his eyes, having a strange sense of deja vu. Trying not to think about it, he rubbed his eyes and yawned, then lowered his hands and stood up. Then he froze. There were voices coming from further inside his apartment, in his kitchen. He silently blended into his wall, the DDNA of Caligomon allowing him to camouflage himself perfectly. He slid against it, making no sounds, and stopped when he could hear the people talking.

"Think it's time to wake him up?" One voice asked, a deep, silky-smooth male voice.

"Let him sleep in," Another male voice, one that sounded a little higher and softer said. "He did take a pretty decent beating."

"Yeah, it's a good thing you picked him up in time," The first said. "I doubt he could've taken much more from that Veedramon."

Then Canem felt like an idiot. These people were the ones who saved him yesterday. He became visible just outside the kitchen and then walked out to where his rescuers sat, each eating a bowl of cereal.

"Morning!" The brown-haired one with the soft voice greeted him cheerfully. The other, a blonde with green eyes, nodded to him and smiled a very open, friendly smile. Canem's "dining area" was a black, small fold-out table near the kitchen that had four folding chairs around it. He didn't really entertain much and was a little embarrassed by the cheap furniture he had, furniture that was essentially either bought really cheap or was about to be thrown out. The life of Canem as a student living on grants and working part-time wasn't exactly a rich one. Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, Canem decided to actually greet his guests/rescuers.

"Good morn-" Canem interrupted himself with a yawn. Great, he couldn't even finish a greeting correctly. TKThe blonde one raised an eyebrow with an amused expression.

"Still tired?" He asked. Canem nodded, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle the yawn. Normally he was an "early to rise" kind of guy, but healing from the injuries he'd sustained yesterday was causing his body to be much more exhausted than usual.

"I'm guessing you want to hear the story about us," The brunette stated. Canem nodded and poured himself some cereal from the box he kept on the table. A very nice, sugary, if not in the least healthy, breakfast.

"That'd be nice. Who are you guys?" He asked.

"My name is Takato and we're, well...we're Digimon Tamers," The brown-haired man started to explain. "Well, TK is called a Digidestined, but it's pretty similar. We come from another dimension than you. Heh, actually me and him come from different dimensions from each other as well."

"I'm Takeru, or TK if you prefer," The golden-haired man held out his hand.

"TK..." Canem said, shaking the blonde man's hand. Something seemed familiar about him, but his mind wasn't quite awake enough yet to piece what it might be together. He turned to the other man. "And what was your name again?"

"Forgot already?!" The other man gave a mock look of hurt. Canem smiled sheepishly, he actually had just wanted to make sure he remembered it correctly. "My name is Takato," Takato said, holding out a hand that was quickly shaken by Canem. "I'm guessing you know about the Couno since you have a Caligomon's Digital DNA in you."

_Are these guys Fusion Warriors as well? _Canem thought, and then mentally winced at how dumb the thought was as it was pretty obvious from their abilities the day before that they were. To hide his red face, even though his guests had no idea why he'd be blushing, he went to the refrigerator to grab some orange juice to go with his cereal. He'd never been a big fan of milk and, despite the looks he'd often get for using juice with his cereal, he enjoyed orange juice with his sugar-frosted brand of breakfast.

_{Be cautious with these two Canem, they have a great power within them.} _Caligomon's voice rang in his head. Canem mentally did his best to raise an eyebrow as he poured orange juice into his cereal. Neither of his guests gave him any sort of judging look, which was almost weird to him.

_{"Great power"? Gee Caligomon, thanks for pointing that out, them beating a Digimon that nearly killed me didn't make that obvious.}_ Canem thought as sarcastically as he could. He could practically feel Caligomon glaring at him.

Canem, with a spoonful of cereal almost in his mouth, realized his two new acquaintances were still waiting on some sort of response from him, so, after trying to remember what was last said to him, he quickly nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm fused with Caligomon. What about you two, who were your partners?"

"My partner is Patamon," TK said. "I got his wings and his attacks."

"Mine is Guilmon," Takato said. "I got his hazard signs, which give me some sort of armor or shield, and attacks."

Another flag spiked straight up in Canem's mind, but he wasn't really in the mood to try to figure out why quite yet. "So, how'd you guys know where I lived?" Canem asked curiously. TK and Takato exchanged sheepish looks.

"We went through your wallet," Takato said. "Sorry 'bout that."

"It's ok," Canem said. "You didn't take anything, right?"

"No!" They both declared defensively at the same time and Canem grinned, he'd only been teasing them. During this conversation, as the sugary goodness of his cereal began to be digested, Canem's mind was beginning to slowly churn as it broke free of the cobwebs in his mind had appeared overnight. As this happened, he began to realize everything his guests had said and why everything sounded so familiar to him.

"Wait… random question, but have you two seen the Digimon show?" Canem asked.

Takato and TK exchanged confused looks.

"Yes," Takato said at the same time TK said "No."

"Um…" Canem tried to figure out his next move.

"What's wrong?" TK asked. He and Takato looked at Canem curiously.

"TK… Do you know a woman named Kari? Ever fight a Digimon Emperor?" Canem asked. TK looked surprised, but nodded. Canem's surprise and excitement increased. These two were not only people from another dimension, but they might actually be characters from the Digimon show!

"You two are characters from the Digimon show!" Canem explained.

TK gave Canem a nervous smile, not sure how to respond to that.

"That's a little too strange for me to believe," TK said. Takato, however, looked thoughtful.

"When you first met Demi-Devimon he told you that Matt didn't want to be your brother after he left," Canem said to TK, trying to think of a way to prove what he said. "And when Tai showed up you wanted him to be your brother instead."

TK's smile vanished and Canem turned to Takato.

"During the fight with Beelzemon you forced WarGrowlmon to digivolve and he became Megidramon," Canem continued, looking at Takato. "Eventually you regained your senses and fused with Guilmon to become Gallantmon."

Takato's expression darkened slightly. It had been years since that event, and while he had recovered a lot from it, it still wasn't a happy memory. Canem realized what he'd said and looked sheepish.

"I'm so sorry! That was incredibly thoughtless of me," Canem apologized, and Takato gave a small smile and shook his head, letting him know it was forgiven and forgotten. "It's just so weird, I mean I grew up watching you guys on television!" Canem realized something as he said that.

"Wait, so how did you guys get Cuono Digivices? I'm not sure how accurate the T.V. shows are in comparison to what actually happened in your worlds, but I thought that neither of your teams had those kinds of Digivices."

"That's true," TK nodded. "We originally had Digivices that used our emotions and wishes to help our partners Digivolve."

"And mine relied on Digimon Cards to power up our partners, though we could Digivolve with Calumon nearby," Takato stated. TK looked confused.

"Wait, we had different Digivices from each other as well?" He asked. Takato shrugged.

"Yeah, Digimon was a show in our world as well, it was huge. We had an incredibly popular card game based off of it, and our D-Arcs could scan them and power up our partners." Takato explained.

"Wow! Sounds like you guys were able to help out your partners more than we could!" TK said, impressed.

"Actually, they even were able to combine together and become a Mega-level by doing that," Canem said with excitement. "Gallantmon, especially Crimson Mode, was so cool!"

Takato blushed slightly. "Thing was, though, that we needed a Digimon named Calumon to be nearby. He was, essentially, the power of Digivolution, and without him we couldn't get past Rookie. At least you could power up your Digimon with your own light."

"True, but being able to combine with your Digimon and fight as one has to be the best way to go about it. I mean, we're doing it now, and I love that Patamon and I are actually working together as one now." TK smiled. "Weird that you both had shows of us but we didn't of you."

"Well, if it helps, it seems like it was only a loose telling of your teams story," Takato explained. "Actually, from what I've seen and what you've told me, it sounds like the shows we watched got some things wrong."

"Well, I hope so! That epilogue of season two was awful!" Canem interjected adamantly.

"I completely agree!" Takato exclaimed. "I mean, Matt became an astronaut?"

"And Davis had a really famous, _international_, noodle stand?" Canem stated with as much disgust as Takato.

"And they all had kids that were mini-clones and had the exact same Digimon?"

Their voices got louder and they started speaking faster with excitement as they bonded while bashing on something that TK, from what he was able to make out, found very sad and a bit insulting.

"Wait, guys, slow down," TK interrupted Canem and Takato's bonding moment. Both men realized what they were talking about, as well as around whom, and slowly sat down with slightly reddened faces.

"Sorry," They both said at the same time.

"So you both have seen our Digimon adventures in your worlds?" TK was confused and a bit worried about how much privacy he'd lost due to this. Takato and Canem nodded.

"Then what's this epilogue you're talking about?" TK asked, not knowing what he was getting himself into.

"Well..." Takato and Canem explained, doing a great job of telling the story together. Where one missed something, the other was able to jump in, but in a way that kept the story flowing, almost as if they'd practiced it before. Takeru, despite being slightly horrified at what he assumed was whoever had somehow gotten their stories attempt to close off the show, but since their world was real and the story wasn't over yet, they had no idea had to do so and just threw something together and hoped for the best.


	3. Icy Fight and Holy Knight

**Faith: **A confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. A belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.

**Virtue:** Moral excellence; integrity of character; purity of soul; performance of duty

* * *

"Wow... that was..." TK found that he was drawing a blank for the right word after hearing the story that was supposed to be him and his friends' future. He was amused, saddened, annoyed, happy, and all sorts of different emotions upon finding out what supposedly would happen 25 years after their battle with MaloMyotismon. "Well, I'll tell you something, it sounds like they were making things up and just hoping they'd work. I'm not sure why as it sounds like everything else was decently accurate, but their 'epilogue' was nowhere near on the spot."

"Really?" Takato and Canem's eyes were full of hope, and two of them were latching onto his every word.

"Well, for instance, Sora may not be as big of a tomboy as she used to be, but she doesn't know much about fashion. In fact, she's actually a fitness instructor right now at a gym that she's also currently the manager of." TK explained.

"Really?" Takato and Canem said at the same time, before looking at each other and laughing. TK chuckled at the two. For two guys who barely met, they were incredibly similar to each other.

"What else?" They asked, once again at the same time. Takeru felt like he was entertaining a couple of kids, but he didn't mind. He began to regale them with more of the true story about his friends.

_- Elsewhere -_

"Well, Tai isn't an ambassador, or even in any sort of training to be one. He is, however, in college on a Soccer scholarship. He's majoring in Physical Therapy." Hikari was explaining to a curious Rika, who'd just realized herself that her two companions were from the Digimon show she'd loved as a child. It was actually embarrassing that they'd spent a week together before and Rika hadn't noticed, though they were recovering from wounds, both physical and emotional, and learning about things like the Couno and Dominus, so it was somewhat understandable.

"That makes a lot more sense. Why Physical Therapy, though?" Rika asked. Hikari and Davis were, just as TK was doing as well a few blocks away, informing Rika about what was really going on in their world to someone who'd been, well, misinformed. Apparently Rika's dimension had a rather large Digimon fanbase, and that fanbase revolved around a show that was somehow based on the lives of Hikari, Davis, and the rest of their teammates and their Digimon adventures.

"He had a lot of friends get injured playing soccer and wanted to be the kind of guy who could help them," Davis explained. "I'm planning on going into Physical Therapy Assisting, for similar reasons."

"Only because you realized to be _exactly_ like Tai you'd need at least a Masters degree!" Kari teased her goggle-wearing friend. Davis rolled his eyes playfully, still smiling away. He definitely thought Tai was a great guy, but he no longer idolized him the way he used to. However, very few would deny that the two were similar, so it was no surprise they picked a similar field to want to work in.

Rika chuckled lightly and double-checked the map they were using to try and find either their teammates or another Fusion Warrior. A dot showing a Warrior was nearby, so they had decided to go for that one. Davis had originally tried to lead the group, but as they tended to see the same areas over and over…. Well, they decided walking in circles was not exactly productive and Rika took over.

"Are we there yet?" Davis asked. His stomach let out a loud rumble. Hikari giggled a bit and poked him.

"You obviously got Veemon's appetite!" She joked. Davis, too hungry to be offended, just nodded.

"Well we had to camp out in the park last night, and I'm starving!" Davis pat his stomach to emphasize that it needed to be filled.

Rika sighed and pointed at a red dot right next to their blue ones.

"We're right next to a new Tamer… I mean Warrior," Rika said. "And Davis, Vigil should've given you some rations. Eat those if you're that hungry!"

Davis's eyes lit up. "Thanks! I forgot." With that he grabbed some rations out of the pack he wore, and began devouring them. Rika and Hikari sighed.

"Are we there yet?" Hikari asked.

_- Canem's Apartment -_

"Wow, that's so great to know," Canem leaned back. "I mean, it's great to know that you're all real as well, but in a way you all were kind of real to me. When I saw how it supposedly ended, that was pretty harsh to fans like me."

Takato nodded in agreement, a very absolute and powerful agreement. TK chuckled.

"Well I'd like to tell you about more of us, but we are on a mission," TK stated, starting to get more business-mannered.

"So...what're you two doing here?" Canem asked, trying to focus on the topic at hand.

"Well we came here to find our friends who were captured and to stop a Digimon named Dominus," Takeru began explaining.

_- Elsewhere -_

"The Warrior should be near here," Rika said. The only person nearby was a woman dressed up in a beautiful, yet very simple, blue and white dress. She had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, but she seemed too dainty to be any sort of fighter.

_{Rika, don't be so quick to judge.}_ Renamon's voice said. Rika, having learned to listen to Renamon's wisdom long ago, flushed a bit as she realized she was judging a book by it's cover.

"Maybe she's inside a building?" Davis suggested, having come to a similar conclusion that Rika had originally had about this woman. Rika hesitated, but Hikari continued looking at the woman. The Digidestined of Light took a step forward and aimed her Digivice at the woman. A picture of a small Digimon covered in ice appeared on the Couno's screen.

"Glaciamon," Hikari stated. The woman looked at her with a questioning expression.

"You knew Glaciamon?" She asked, she noticed the Couno on Hikari's wrist. "A Fusion Warrior?"

"You're a Warrior?" Rika asked, some doubt still in her voice. It didn't help her ego when she felt Renamon smirking. The woman nodded her head.

"My name's Julia," She said in her beautiful voice. Davis practically drooled, but Rika's elbow in his stomach stopped him.

"I'm Rika," Rika said. "This is Davis." She pointed at the man who was grimacing while rubbing the spot where Rika's blow had hit him.

"I'm Hikari," Hikari said. Julia nodded at them.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. Hikari began explaining the situation to her.

_- Canem's Apartment -_

"That's horrible!" Canem was horrified, to the point where he didn't even know how to respond. "Dominus is that powerful?"

"He's somehow got a massive army, and while it has it's lower leveled Digimon, most of them are Ultimates, Megas, and beyond that," Takato explained. "Even Gallantmon Crimson Mode couldn't handle it all."

"Neither could Omegamon or Imperialdramon," TK lamented.

"Well, what are we supposed to do here?" Canem asked.

"We'll have to find our friends first," TK pointed out, changing the subject. He pressed a button on the Couno and the large map appeared.

"Looks like they're closer now," Takato said, studying his own. "They're probably only about five minutes from here."

Canem stood up. "Then lets go!"

_- Elsewhere -_

"That's quite a tale," Julia commented. The other Digidestined nodded in unison.

"But you do realize that I'll have to test you?" She asked. Davis, Hikari, and Rika looked at her with confusion.

"Don't worry!" Julia laughed. "I'll just randomly choose a blue dot on my map, whoever is closest to my finger will have to duel with me."

"Count me out!" Davis said. "I won't fight someone on my own team." Rika and Hikari nodded in agreement.

"Oh its just play fighting," Julia said. She zoomed her map in to give the blue dots more space and closed her eyes, twirling her finger around before stabbing it into the map. "Looks like I fight..."

"Hikari!" A male voice from behind them called out. Hikari turned around. TK, Takato, and a man she'd not seen before were running at her.

"Rika!" Takato shouted.

"Davis!" The stranger shouted, as if he just felt left out and wanted to shout a name. Still, Davis was pleased to at least be acknowledged and waved.

As everyone looked at them, Julia turned around and pointed at one of the males running at them; the new one.

"We'll be dueling," She stated matter-of-factly. The new guy looked at her, confused.

"Um...am I missing something?" He asked, turning his back on Julia to face TK. Before even a shrug could be given, Canem whirled around and caught a long ice spear that had been aimed at his heart. Everyone gaped, not just at his reflexes, but at the fact Julia had attacked him from behind, _and_ with a blow that could've killed him.

"Well that wasn't very nice," Canem said, twirling the spear in his hands so fast it was a blur, then he held it in a guarded position. Julia smirked at him.

"Good, you have skills!" She commented. "Now fight me!"

Canem raised an eyebrow at her. "Um...I don't really like to fight girls."

Julia shrugged. "Then you'd better be good at dodging."

The other Digidestined made a move to interrupt the fight, but a glowing, almost-transparent, pink wall appeared and separated them.

"What the...?" TK said, banging on the barrier. A voice, one that wasn't their Digimon partners, rang in their heads.

"When challenged to a duel, no one else must interfere," It said. "But if you feel the need to battle, try this!"

After that a large Digimon appeared, a Metal Tyrannomon.

"He felt so upset yesterday after you beat his brother, I decided to grant him the chance for revenge," the voice continued. "Have fun!"

A fierce battle was now raging.

* * *

Canem leaped over a thrown spear, blocked another, and then grabbed the next. He twirled both of the spears so fast they blurred and blocked all the spears Julia had thrown at him.

"I really don't want to fight you!" He shouted. Julia smirked again her eyes flashed red.

"That will be a problem for you then," She replied, summoning more spears. Canem growled in frustration as he was forced to leap back

_{Canem! Something's wrong with this woman!} _Caligomon exclaimed.

_No, really?_ Canem asked sarcastically as he beat another spear aside.

_{I'm serious! Try to feel out her energy, it's like it's being muffled. It's there, but very faint. With how faint it feels she shouldn't be able to do more than sleep.}_ Caligomon explained.

_Crap! Is she possessed or something?_ Canem asked after confirming what his partner had said. He flipped a couple of times, dodging another rain of spears followed him.

_At least that explains her attacking me out of nowhere,_ Canem thought. _But how do I help her?_

_{You're gonna have to wait it out or knock her out, she'll have to run out of energy before the person controlling her will be forced to let her go.} _Caligomon said. Canem kicked some spears to the side and sighed.

_How long will it take?_ Canem asked.

_{I don't know. I suspect that you'll have to start attacking though, I doubt you can hold on as long as her while only dodging. You're losing energy much faster than she is.} _Caligomon pointed out. Canem did a side-flip over another ice spear. He didn't know what to do, but he couldn't bring himself to attack her, especially if she was possessed.

_Any other ideas?_ He asked.

* * *

_{You have to Digivolve.} _Guilmon said in Takatos head.

TK flapped his wings and dodged another fire blast. Hikari already lay out of the fighting zone, unconscious after a failed lightning paw. Apparently the Digimon knew her as the one who'd put his brother to sleep since he had attacked her first. All the Warriors attacks were useless. Even though they were stronger than a normal rookie, an Ultimate was far more than they could take. Davis rolled while Rika leaped over another attack from the large Digimon.

Takato let out a scream of frustration that let loose a Pyrosphere, which didn't seem to even affect the Ultimate. _This is hopeless! How can I Digi-_ He stopped as Davis got hit in full, sending him flying hard at Rika. They both fell and lay unconscious. TK flew and grabbed them, but was hit before he could take them away. He was thrown, while holding tightly to his teammates, into the invisible barrier and slid down with his eyes closed.

Takato looked around at the fallen around him, gaining a second wind from his desire to protect them. He shot a Pyrosphere at the Ultimate, but it still did very little other than draw its attention. Takato looked at Canem again; who'd now had a spear graze his side, leaving a deep gash. The attacked area now bled freely and Canem had to place a hand on his wound, which slowed him down.

_Canem!_ Takato mentally cried out, not noticing a blue glow surrounding him.

* * *

Canem held his hand over his cut, doing his best to stifle the flow of blood. More spears were coming at him, and he had too little energy to dodge much longer. Another grazed his leg, his arm, and the side of his face. The best he could do was stop her attacks from being fatal, but completely dodging them was out. He knew he should have attacked, but this woman seemed so familiar to him. She wasn't herself now, and he had a hard time bringing himself to attack her due to that, but he also had a strong urge to protect her that conflicted harshly with his survival instincts. He would save her… somehow. Determination gave him another boost of energy, though part of him knew it was futile.

_{Canem!}_ A voice that was not Caligomon's rang in his head. It was Takato's. Too tired to truly comprehend what was happening, Canem responded.

_Takato?_ Canem asked. He looked over to his new friend, who in turn met his gaze. Takato seemed to be glowing a bit, and Canem could actually feel Takato's heart beating. He didn't notice a white glow surrounding his body as he reached a hand out towards Takato, feeling a strong, virtuous power coming from him.

It was almost as if...

* * *

Takato felt another heart beating in his chest, and he somehow knew it had to be Canem's. He reached out a hand towards Canem as he began to glow with a blue aura. He felt a strong, faith-based power coming from Canem.

It was almost as if….

* * *

They were one. They looked at each other, their auras glowing stronger. Their eyes locked. The spears thrown at Canem froze in the air and Metal Tyrannomon's claw froze in mid-swipe a few inches from Takato's head.

"Dual..." Canem started, a white aura surrounded him and began growing.

"Fusion..." Takato said, a blue one surrounded him and followed suit.

"Activate!" They both yelled. A golden light shot from Canem and a silver from Takato, the invisible barrier shattered as the beams met. The light produced as they combined forced Julia to cover her eyes, a dark red aura surrounded her before being disintegrated as she collapsed. The Metal Tyrannomon roared in pain and fired off several blasts into the light, but no explosions could be heard. The fallen Digidestined's wounds were healed as the light bathed them and they opened their eyes. Julia managed to pull herself up, watching where Canem had been with a worried expression.

The light died down and a person stood there. It was neither Takato nor Canem, it was a strange combination of both. They had long brown hair, reaching a little past their shoulders. A silver sword was held in their left hand, shining with an inner light. A crimson and white shield with a hazard symbol with a cross in the middle engraved on it was worn on his right. They wore a silver-colored knight's armor, which had feather markings on the sides of his helmet, arms, and legs.

"I am Paladin, Blessed Mode. I am the Guardian Knight of Faith and Virtue," Paladin said in a soft but firm voice. He floated down in front of the Metal Tyrannomon and held his sword in a guarded posture.

"Giga flame!" Metal Tyrannomon yelled a giant fireball formed in his mouth. Julia's eyes widened.

"Run!" She tried yelling, but she could barely whisper. The other Warriors stared in horror while Paladin stood perfectly.

The blast hit Paladin at point blank range, causing the Digidestined to gasp, but when the smoke cleared he still stood there without a scratch.

"My shield and armor of Faith protects me," Paladin said. "And my blade of Virtue strikes down those with evil in their hearts." With that said Paladin sliced at Metal Tyrannomon, cutting through it like a knife through water. Metal Tyrannomon shattered into thousands of particles, and then flew away. Paladin looked at his fallen friends, then a white glow surrounded him. When it faded Takato and Canem stood there. Canem fell to his knees from exhaustion and Takato soon followed.

A shadow fell over Canem and he looked up. Julia stood there, tears rolling down her face.

"Um...hi?" Canem didn't know what else to say. Julia responded by hugging him in a way that was filled with worry, affection, gratitude, and various other emotions that usually leads to the person being hugged to fall on the floor. As a matter of fact this style of hug is often referred to as "glomping."

"It was so horrible, yesterday something grabbed me while I was walking home from school, and when I woke up... I was under someone else's control," She sobbed. "I had to watch but I couldn't do anything! I'm so sorry!"

Canem looked nervous and confused, but still managed to figure out that she needed comfort and he patted her back awkwardly.

A set of feet appeared within Takatos vision and he looked up to see Rika. "Gogglehead, don't ever worry me like that again! At least use your shield next time! Do you now how hard it would be to tell Jeri when we rescue her that you had died because you decided not to block the giant attack aimed at your face?"

Takato laughed nervously. "Sorry Rika."

TK watched the exchanges of his teammates while deep in thought.

_Human fusion?_ TK thought to himself. _I'd thought they'd have to be at least a champion to do that kind of thing._

_{It's 'cause of the Human in them.} _Patamon's voice said. _{Humans can break the rules, which I think is one of the reasons we fused with you. Normally two rookies couldn't make a powerful fighter like that.}_

_Hm... so it's like DNA digivolving, but how were they able to take out an Ultimate?_

_{I think it's the same logic. We're more powerful now than a regular Rookie; so two Warriors combined might be stronger than an Ultimate. Besides, he seemed to be a mode-changed Digimon, which means he was likely at least above a regular Champion.}_

_You're probably right. I wonder what else we'll find out._

"TK?" Hikari asked, she'd crawled next to him and was now laying her head on his shoulder. "Let's go home."

"Okay," TK said, wrapping his arm around her. They stayed there, finding comfort in each others presence.

Davis was going over the fight in his mind. "I wish I could do that fusion, but Ken's not here to fuse with me! I feel so useless!"

_{Maybe you can fuse with someone here Davis!}_ Veemon said. Davis smiled at Veemon's optimism.

_Maybe...I just wish I weren't so alone right now. _Davis thought, watching all the other Warriors having someone to talk to.

A shooting star flew across the sky.


	4. Controlled Knowledge, Broken Reliability

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon._**

**Valor**: The qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger (especially in battle)

**Hope**: To cherish a desire of good, or of something welcome, with expectation of obtaining it or belief that it is obtainable.

* * *

Canem cracked open his eyes open as he felt his arm being lifted. Someone was holding his limb and there seemed to be a bowl of something nearby that he was too tired to identify. Squinting, he realized it was Davis. What was he doing here?

_{Hurry Davis}_ Veemon urged Davis. Canem, not hearing Veemon's voice, still opened his eyes a bit more and realized there was liquid in the bowl.

"Don't worry," Davis said quietly, sounding to Canem like he was talking to himself. "I've done this to Tai before. I got chased around for a while afterwards, but I still managed pulled off the 'hand in warm water' trick." Canem bolted up when he realized what was going on. Davis leaped back in surprise, and dropped the bowl of warm water, spilling it all over his bed.

Canem groaned. "I let you stay in my apartment and this is how you thank me?"

Davis grinned with a boyish mischievousness and a little bit of sheepishness at the same time. TK walked in and looked at them questioningly, but when he saw the wet parts on Canems bed he couldn't stop a smile.

"Did you wet the bed Canem?" TK joked. Canem looked frantic.

"No I didn't, Davis dropped warm water on me!" He protested. TK nodded in a very exaggerated manner, as if he was saying "Oh sure, I completely believe you…" Davis laughed as Canem frantically tried to prove to TK that it was just water on the bed.

The Caligomon in him sighed. The realms were all done for.

_- In Julia's Apartment -_

Hikari and Julia sat comfortably on some wooden chairs with cushions on them, part of an expensive dining room set as the table between them was made of the same type of wood. While they talked, giggled, and shared stories, Rika slept peacefully on an inflatable bed in the next room. The topic of their talks eventually drifted to their experiences the previous day.

"So Dominus was controlling you," Hikari said. "That must have been awful!"

Julia nodded solemnly. "It was. But being possessed on it's own was nothing compared to being forced to attack Can-you guys."

"You were gonna say Canem huh?" Hikari grinned. Julia found a fun spot on the floor to look at.

"N-no!" She tried to protest.

"I think someone has a crush!" Hikari joked. Julia continued looking at the floor.

"It's just...he didn't even try to hurt me," She said. "I kept attacking and attacking, but he didn't do anything back."

"Well I don't know Canem very well, but he seems like a pretty good guy," Hikari said. "Even if he is a bit...weird."

"He's always been like that though," Julia laughed. Hikari raised an eyebrow.

"We knew each other as children," The blond-haired woman explained. "We didn't know each other very well, but we went to the same school until I was about eight and my family moved. He was the class clown and always wanted attention, even if it was only the negative kind. It's been about ten years since then, but yesterday when I saw him... well it was pretty easy for me to recognize him. "

Rika walked in the room, yawning. "Thanks for letting us use your apartment Julia."

"Oh it's no problem at all, I only moved here about a month ago, so I'm sorry about the unpacked boxes," Julia said apologetically. "However, it is really rather convenient that Canem is only a few floors up."

Rika nodded and sat down with them. "So, Julia has a crush on Canem?" Julia blushed heavily and Kari giggled.

_- Canem's Apartment -_

Canem followed Davis, Takeru, and Takato outside his apartment, locking the door behind him. They walked to the elevator and pressed the button for Julia's floor.

"That was a messed up trick," Canem said. Davis and Takeru laughed.

"Why do you think our fused body was Paladin, Blessed Mode?" Takato asked out of the blue. Takeru and Davis stopped laughing and looked at him questioningly.

"I remember when I was a child, I read about a holy knight who managed to beat a dark sorcerer and saved the world. He's what they called a Paladin, a knight that could call upon Holiness to help him," Canem explained. "I really admired them."

"That's weird," Davis commented. "I wonder what I'll be when I digivolve."

"MegaGassermon?" Takeru guessed. "I mean the gas you pass at night. Whew!" Takeru held his nose. Everyone laughed lightly as the elevator dinged and they all walked out. They were blissfully unaware of the presence that was nearby, watching them.

A cloaked figure wearing a black cloak that wrapped around him stood on top of the apartment building. He smiled to himself and jumped off, closing himself into a ball and hitting the ground hard enough to make the apartment complex shake.

"Fusion Warriors, let's see you fight one of your own," The man laughed. "Come to me before I destroy this place!"

Canem quickly leaped off the balcony with Takato following. Takeru picked up Davis and flew him down. The door to Julia's apartment opened and, upon seeing the men all rushing to the ground, the women did the same.

Canem and Takato landed first, right in front of the man wearing black.

"Who're you?" Canem asked. The man cocked his head to the side. His eyes lit up from beneath his hood and several numbers streamed across them.

"Canem: uses Caligomon DDNA," the man said. "Already has a partner."

"What's going on?" Takato asked. The man switched his gaze to Takato.

"Takato: uses Guilmon DDNA," He stated. "Already has a partner."

Takeru and Davis landed next. The man looked at them, and then grinned.

"Takeru: uses Patamon DDNA. No partner.  
Davis: uses Veemon DDNA. No partner," He said.

"Prepare to be destroyed." The man reached back his arms, and when he slammed them together a gust of wind threw them back. The women had just landed and Hikari caught Takeru while Rika caught Davis.

"Who are you?" Hikari asked. The man merely smiled at her.

"I am a servant of Dominus," He said. "I must prevent the fusion of those who haven't yet."

"You ready Takato?" Canem asked. Takato nodded. Before either could do anything, a giant shadow appeared behind them. They turned to look, it was a Digimon no one recognized. He wore a full set of black armor, minus a helmet, but no weapon that would be typical of any kind of knight was present. Golden, arcane markings glowed brightly as they shifted and moved across his armor and the man's eyes glowed red. His long black hair matched well with his dark olive skin, but the snarl on his face took away any handsomeness that might have originally been there. Takato aimed his Digivice at the Digimon.

"Nox, Virus type, Ultimate level. No other information is known about him other than that," Takato read. "Wait...why isn't his name Noxmon?" Canem didn't hear, only got an angry look on his face.

"Nox," Canem practically spit the name. "The opposite of that legendary Paladin."

"Ah, you know of me, little knight?" Nox seemed happy. "Good! But unfortunately I am only allowed to fight you, not your fusion partner."

With that said he flicked his fingers and a red force-shield separated Canem from the rest of the Digidestined.

* * *

"Canem!" Julia yelled, pounding on the wall. Canem didn't hear her, only focusing on Nox.

Takato grabbed her and leaped as high as he could, dodging what seemed to be hundreds of rocks flying at them.

"Julia! We're going to need your help, focus!" He said. Julia nodded and focused on the mysterious stranger.

"Impressive, but it's now six against one," The stranger said. "I'll need more power. Darkness Digivolution Activate!"

A black aura surrounded the man, and when it died down a Digimon stood there. The Digimon was huge, looking like an-

"Ankylomon!" The monster shouted. "But I'm not done yet!" A red aura appeared this time, and when it died down a giant Digimon that looked as though it were made of both clay and steel appeared. Almost everyone there had seen this Digimon before, when it was with angelic wings and colored both silver and gold. However, now it was bathed in the color black with it's wings red and tattered.

"Dark Shakkoumon!" The new Digimon announced itself. Takeru's eyes widened as he fully registered just whom it was they were fighting.

"Cody!" TK shouted. Davis and Hikari's eyes widened in recognition. The Digimon laughed.

"You finally recognized me!" He said. "But lets see how well you fight against me! Black Kachina Bomb!"

Hundreds of razor sharp saucers appeared, flying at them. They all did their best to dodge, but they knew it was hopeless. They were trapped within a wall and Cody could keep firing at them.

"Snap out of it Cody!" Takeru shouted. "Air Bombs!"

He threw the bombs made of condensed air at Cody, but they bounced off harmlessly. Davis launched himself at Cody, but his flurry of V-Strikes did nothing. Julia threw her spears, but they couldn't pierce its thick skin. Everyone else's attack had the same effect. Cody merely laughed, then fired off a huge beam, one that sent them all crashing into the walls. He'd been absorbing the energy of their attacks, and then fired them back. It was that specific ability that made Shakkoumon so powerful and able to take on even Mega-level Digimon. The situation began to look more and more hopeless, but Takeru wiped some blood from his mouth and flapped his wings again. He wasn't going to let a person he thought of as a little brother be controlled by Dominus.

* * *

Canem and Nox circled each other, neither moving to attack.

"Let's get this started," Nox said.

At that Nox lunged at Canem, who jumped over him. However, Nox grabbed Canem's foot and, with great strength, slammed him towards the ground. Reacting with reflexes that made Caligomon proud, Canem let fly an Arrowhead Barrage, which caused Nox to let go of him in order to dodge it. Canem flew at a wall and managed to get there feet first, pushing off of it to land softly into a fighting stance.

"That was pretty good, for a Rookie," Nox laughed. His dodge of Canem's counterattack hadn't been fully successful as a golden, energy-based arrowhead had burrowed into one of his eye sockets. Nox chuckled again as he tore it out. The large gash healed almost instantly. "This will be fun."

* * *

Takeru was slammed against the wall again, sliding down. Struggling to breath after getting the wind knocked from him, he slowly stood back up. All the others besides him and Davis were unconscious; Cody had kept him and Davis conscious specifically to play with them. Takeru flew at Cody, using his Body Slam to ram into Cody. Unfortunately, Cody saw this and batted him aside.

"You don't know when to give up do you?" Cody asked. Davis had regained his senses and was now struggling up along with Takeru.

"I don't leave my friends behind," Davis and Takeru said at the same time. Davis lunged at Cody again while Takeru tried to slam him. The two would die before they gave up on Cody, or any of the others Dominus had captured.

* * *

Canem slid down from the wall and coughed a few times. Nox had been holding back, merely toying with him. Being an Ultimate gave him a huge advantage over Canem, one he couldn't even hope to match without Takato.

"Giving up already little knight?" Nox taunted. Canem got to his knees, and then pushed himself up. His eyes flashed gold, causing Nox to look surprised.

"I'm not giving up," He said in a voice not his own. He threw himself at Nox with renewed energy.

* * *

Davis lay next to Takeru, neither able to move.

"Aw, big brothers!" Cody taunted. "Come on and play!"

"Cody..." Takeru said. Davis tried to get up again, but he couldn't even move his arms. Maybe it was over. Too bad he had to die alone.

_{Takeru is one of your friends!} _Veemon's voice shouted. _{Believe in yourself and in your friends, then you can do anything.}_

_It's true Davis,_ A voice entered his head.

_Tk? _Davis asked mentally.

_Yeah, _Takeru's voice responded.

_I think it's time we became friends._

_A little late isn't it?_

_Not if it'll save those we care for._

_I meant that I thought we were already friends._

Davis shut his eyes as memories hit him. Takeru had always considered him a friend, but between always competing with him and his immaturity, he'd been too thickheaded to realize it. Takeru was the kind of guy who made Davis feel extremely competitive with, he was so good at almost everything. However, part of the reason he was so competitive was because he was so close to the fellow Digidestined. He sighed, feeling a bit of a weight fly off into the distance as he fully accepted his role as Takeru's friend. It didn't mean he wouldn't still view him as a rival though.

_Alright, it's time to fuse!_

_Let's do this!_

Dark Shakkuomon stopped his attack in surprise when he saw his enemies were both glowing. Davis a light silver-blue, and Takeru a strong emerald. His eyes widened as he realized what they were doing, he needed to stop them.

"Black Kachina Bomb!" He fired his attack at the two, but it stopped in midair, then disintegrated. Davis and Takeru floated in the air, silver-blue meeting emerald.

* * *

Canem lay on the verge of unconsciousness, it was over for him. His now golden eyes started closing, until they picked up a red and blue light. He could make out Davis and Takeru in the glow when suddenly the light expanded everywhere, giving him energy and healing his wounds. He stood up, much to Nox's surprise.

"I see that light has healed you," Nox said. "Oh well, I guess I'll just have to beat you again."

But that light had given him something else, he knew what to do now. A golden aura appeared around him, and when it died down Paladin stood there. This was not the same Paladin brought around by his fusion the other day, but he was still the knight of Faith. He held a sword in his left hand that had a pale blade to it and carried a shield with a cross on it on his other hand.

"W-what?" Nox yelled. "But what about your fusion partner?"

Canem pointed to where Takato stood, now wearing the armor of a red dragon, Growlmon. "I don't need to fuse to go to Champion anymore. I may not be as powerful as when he and I fused in this form, but I can fight you now! Bring it!"

Nox paused and tilted his head to the side, as if listening to someone. After a few seconds hee smirked at Paladin. "Not yet, we'll finish at a later time."

With that said he disappeared in a flash of red light.

"We'll meet again."

* * *

The light that Davis and Takeru had emitted started to die down, ExVeemon and Angemon stood where it had been. All around them people had their DDNA digivolved. Rika into Kyubimon, Takato into Growlmon, Kari stayed as Gatomon but gained the Holy Tail Ring, and Julia into Titaniamon.

Takato now wore a red leather-type of jacket armor on his upper-body that had the Hazard sign on the back of it. He wore red pants with white stripes on them and he had black bindings on his arms and legs with golden digi-code glowing from them. His hands had metal gauntlets in the shape of claws, and his hair was completely white. His eyes had a feral look to them and his teeth were now far sharper.

Rika stood about the same height, wearing a shinto-based rope with red and white stitched on it that wrapped around her arms, almost like a snake, and tying into a bow at the center of her back. She also had seven small tails hung around her waist, almost as if they were accessories. Her clothes were now a yellow and white shirt and blue jeans.

Davis was wearing blue, long-sleeved, leather jacket with a white shirt underneath that had a giant silver 'X' on the chest plate. His pants looked like blue jeans, but were made out of the same sturdy armor his jacket was. Like Takato, his eyes were more reptillian now and he had very sharp teeth. He also wore blue leather gloves.

Takeru wore a metal helmet on his head, covering his eyes. He wore a white shirt and white pants that seemed to glow with holy energy. A blue ribbon-like cloth wrapped around his body. Takeru held the Angel's staff with hands that were now covered with metal gloves. Instead of two orange, bat-like wings, they were now six, white, and feathered.

Hikari looked similar to how she did before, but a Holy Tail Ring was now on both of her hands. Where Gatomon had originally only large Holy Tail Right, Hikari wore two smaller Holy Bracelets, one on each wrist. Her outfit was now a white shirt with a pink stripe across it and a pink pair of pants. Hikari felt power flowing from her new accessories and knew how Gatomon must have felt when she'd lost her Holy Tail Ring, the power change was very significant.

Julia was now using Titaniamons DDNA, wearing a beautifully intricate blue and white dress and a golden crown. A set of large fairy wings allowed her to fly in the air.

* * *

Cody looked nervous, well as nervous as he could in his Ultimate form. "I see you are stronger now, but do you really think a few Champions can hurt me?"

Takeru walked up to Cody. "It's time to bring you back Cody."

Davis followed suit. "We do this because we care about you."

Takeru and Davis once again glowed their own colors

"Dual Fusion Activate!" They shouted. Their auras combined and a new being stood there now. A mix of Takeru's blonde hair and Davis's brown eyes appeared as the glow died down. The Human\Digimon had silver, white, and blue armor and a long silver and gold spear carried in his right hand. His six silver wings were metallic but looked as though they were feathers.

"I am the Angelic Dragon Knight of Valor and Hope, my name is Dragoon," A voice made of the combination of TK and Davis's voices rang out. Cody launched his attack at them, but it didn't even reach Takeru\Davis.

"Holy Purification!" They shouted. A white aura surrounded their hands, and then a white beam flew at Cody, completely covering him. When the light disappeared, it was Cody in his human form standing there. He looked at them with a sad smile on his face.

"I'm sorry," He said, before fainting. Dragoon ran up to him, wrapping their arms around him.

_Give him to me,_ A voice said in their heads.

A portal appeared in front of them and Vigil walked out of it.

"He'll die soon if I don't fix what Dominus has done to him," He said. Everyone looked confused.

"But we purified him," Dragoon said. Vigil shook his head.

"You can purify the evil Dominus put in him, but everything else he did to Cody is still there," Vigil said. "Medications, serums, things to help control Cody. Since these things are not from this world I need to take him back to the Guardian Headquarters, then I can completely heal him."

Dragoon placed the sleeping Cody in Vigil's arms. Vigil nodded to them, then walked back through the portal.

Paladin walked up to them, just before being glomped by Titania. Vigil's head poked back out of the portal.

"Coming?" He asked. The Digidestined exchanged glances before nodded and following. When they stepped through the portal it was not the Greek Style the Heart and Soul Warriors had seen before, but a beach. They noticed Vigil sitting on the sand in a swimsuit, his wings weren't visible.

"Vigil, what's going on?" Takeru asked.

"Dominus is able to control almost anything with at least some DDNA in them," Vigil explained. "I doubt that Cody will be the last one sent after you, and I'm trying to find a way to protect you from the controlling effect."

"You can do that?" Julia asked, unsure who this man even was. Vigil nodded.

"I'm going to try, but I can't make any guarantee's," He said. Vigil snapped his fingers and their Couno changed into more of a bracer than a watch, completely covering their wrist up to the elbow.

"I don't know how well this will work, but until I can get more information it's the best I can do with the data I've gotten from your fights," Vigil explained sheepishly. "You'll also be able to go to, or even maintain if you wish, Champion Level without requiring as much Divinity Power."

"Divinity Power?" Takeru and Davis asked. Vigil nodded.

"Everyone one of you has something special about them, something that grants holy powers to you," He explained. "For Canem it's his faith. Takato has virtue, Takeru is Hope, Davis has valor, and so on. When Canem and Takato fused they became Paladin, the Divine Knight of Faith and Virtue and was able to rid the area of evil. When Davis and Takeru fused they became Dragoon, the Angelic Knight of Valor and Hope. When hearts, minds, and bodies are in a certain state, Divinity Power can be summoned, which let everyone around Digivolve."

"Not when we did," Takato pointed out. Canem nodded in agreement.

"That would be because you two were Rookies going to Champions," Vigil said. "You gave enough Divinity to heal everyone, but not to Digivolve them. However, because of your Divinity usage the first time, you further opened what we might call a gate. After that it became more easy to use, which is probably why TK and Davis were able to summon so much more today"

"There was another thing I noticed," Takato said. "Why were we Paladin and not Paladinmon?"

"Ah, a good question," Vigil complimented. "It's because you're human. Humans don't need a 'mon' in their name, just like you're Takato and not Takatomon."

Guilmon laughed in Takato's head, causing the Tamer to smile.

"Does that mean that Nox is a human as well?" Canem asked, a bit of anger in his voice. Vigil shrugged.

"I'm not sure," He said a bit sheepishly. "He could be a Digimon and just imitating hybrids, he could be a hybrid, or he even could be a being we don't know of. There's a lot out there we'll be surprised by."

"And Julia, consider yourself lucky," Vigil said, looking at the blonde. Julia raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"Dominus could've done a lot worse than just possess you," He explained. "Who knows what he's done to the others."

Everyone's expression became very sullen.

"Don't fret guys," Vigil grinned. "Cody will be fine. He's the first step you've taken to rescuing your friends. I have trust in you, you do the same." After that was said, the hybrids found themselves back at the apartment complex that Julia and Canem lived at. The fight had been trapped within those pink walls that kept appearing, so the damage to the apartment was nonexistent, but for some reason it seemed like no one had noticed the fight as no people were around at all.

"This is gonna be a weird adventure," Davis commented. The other Fusion Warriors just nodded their heads in agreement.


End file.
